Napoleonic Empires: Game Thread

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
My logic was that my navy could handle his without using the transports for cover (and it should have) and that the transports probably had poor HP relative to their cost. The real screw up was my changing the retreat level...I'm not sure how I could have changed it to the point where my fleet fled before it lost all it's Frigates though! That was sheer stupidity. I can't imagine what I was thinking. Maybe it was a bug 🙁.

Originally posted by buffalobill
Two turns ago, I thought I'd go in and throw a few rocks at Denmark and get the heck out of there. Set the retreat level at 1 but lost troops to the value of 131 CP and 7.6 HP. I don't totally understand it either.

EDIT: That was in MD, but same principle applies.

Originally posted by rwingett
In order to retreat, there must be some survivors from the current round of combat. Combat must be fully resolved from each damage resolution phase before retreat levels will be checked. So your troops will not retreat the instant their losses reach 50% (or whatever your retreat level would seem to indicate). They will only retreat if their losses have exce ...[text shortened]... hen there will be no survivors left to retreat and it won't matter what your retreat level was.

Originally posted by buffalobill
Probably what my problem was is I didn't haven't peasant rabble up front. Then I could have lost the front rank and ducked out of there. I'd have thought 3 siege engines would have done some damage, but nothing, nada, niks, eikona, fokoll or whatever other type of language you want to express it in. Bosse de Nage will understand 😉

EDIT: I bet this one slips past the censors.

There was only one seemingly bad word there. But I bet I win this little game. 😏

In the game system, attacks with a smaller force won't work to whittle down the bigger force; you'll always take more losses. The only difference a lower retreat level will make is that you might not lose all your attacking forces IF the defenders don't destroy you in the first combat phase. If you want to fight just one phase, set your retreat level at 1 but don't put any troops in the first rank.

On average, if you divide the combat strength of the other force by 100 you'll get how many hit points you can expect to lose in the first combat phase.

Originally posted by no1marauder
In the game system, attacks with a smaller force won't work to whittle down the bigger force; you'll always take more losses. The only difference a lower retreat level will make is that you might not lose all your attacking forces IF the defenders don't destroy you in the first combat phase. If you want to fight just one phase, set your retreat level at ...[text shortened]... rce by 100 you'll get how many hit points you can expect to lose in the first combat phase.

Originally posted by no1marauder
In the game system, attacks with a smaller force won't work to whittle down the bigger force; you'll always take more losses. The only difference a lower retreat level will make is that you might not lose all your attacking forces IF the defenders don't destroy you in the first combat phase. If you want to fight just one phase, set your retreat level at ...[text shortened]... rce by 100 you'll get how many hit points you can expect to lose in the first combat phase.

Originally posted by rwingett
But two combat phases occur before damage is assessed.

Originally posted by no1marauder
If there's nothing in rank 1, the battle takes only one combat phase. It's in the rules somewhere as an example in italics.

Originally posted by rwingett
Quote, please.

Originally posted by no1marauder
Chapter 6 Land Battles - Determine Casualties:

JB: consider this – your foe has a fast moving trooper, about to enter your lands. You have one peasant who can stand in his way. Put the peasant in the second rank, set retreat to first rank. The peasant will engage in one round of combat, then retreat. The peasant may die in the Battle Aftermath, b ...[text shortened]... lict the fatal hit that would kill your peasant.

It's in green actually, not italics.

Originally posted by rwingett
Why didn't you include the preceding?:

[i/]Casualties are determined every round, but the hits only take effect in removing troops every second round. This means that units eliminated in odd rounds still get to fire in the following round, even if they are technically "killed". This does not apply if a force is wiped out however – the battle ends when th ...[text shortened]... only going to cause more problems for themselves. Just leave it at 5 and fight to the death.

Originally posted by no1marauder
Since it was irrelevant to my point, why would I? Let your Mongol barbarians fight to their well-deserved deaths in hopeless battles; the Army of Italy is led by strategists of the highest order, not Commanders who are so blind.

Originally posted by rwingett
The right strategy is to only fight battles you can win. If you have to retreat you shouldn't have fought the battle in the first place. That is the essense of strategy. Knowing how to manipulate the silly retreat levels is for effeminate tinkerers.